Bilingual 'Aladdin' takes center stage

5:40 PM,
Apr. 17, 2013

Written by

Don O. Henry

Disney's beloved "Aladdin" is on stage at the Center for the Arts stage in bilingual form weekends through April 28.

The plot uses Spanish and English languages to separate the palace inhabitants from the common people on the street, but two characters who serve as interpreters and three bilingual animals make sure that whatever is spoken in one language is understood by those who speak the other.

The clever script attributes the linguistic segregation to the evil intentions of the Sultan's right-hand man, the Vizier. He used a Genie wish to prevent the ruling class and working class from ...